On June 21st NAHREP released a statement authored by Co-Founder & CEO Gary Acosta and 2018 NAHREP President Daisy Lopez-Cid on the immigration crisis and the government’s activity at the border.
“We have been moved to tears,” wrote Acosta and Lopez-Cid. “While we recognize the need for secure borders, separating children from their parents and placing them in cages…does not reflect the founding principles of our nation.”
Immigration is a complicated issue. As long as there is poverty, violence, anarchy and persecution in other parts of the world, decent people will want to come to the United States and other first world countries. For the most part this is a good problem for the U.S. With an aging population and a diminishing work force, America needs immigrants more than ever. It’s basic math. Immigrants come to this country for a better life, and contrary to what some people believe, are among the most productive members of our society. Immigrant laborers from Latin America are twice as likely than native born to be entrepreneurs and job creators. However, open borders are not the solution either.
We cannot continue in the tangle previous administrations, including the Obama administration, have failed to address. Inflammatory rhetoric is useless: data shows legal and undocumented immigrants are no more likely to engage in criminal activity than native-born people, and people with reasonable concerns about illegal immigration are not automatically racists or nativists. NAHREP calls for a long-term fix to the immigration system lead by reasonable citizens of all political persuasions that must begin with
- expeditiously reuniting children in detention centers with their families
- providing permanent status and a path to citizenship for DACA residents and their families who are currently residing in America
- providing permanent status for undocumented immigrants who are currently residing in the United States and contributing to our economy
See the full statement here